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I love all the military styles in fashion right now - and especially the ornate dome buttons lining the vests and jackets. Trouble is, the buttons can be pricey. The least expensive ones I could find at my craft store were $3 each - and I needed 20. Yikes!

Well, remember that cool dime necklace I bought last month? It inspired me. So, John and I took a trip to the hardware store to see what we could use to hammer coins into domes.

Little did we know we'd find THIS:

It's called a Doming Block, and its sole purpose is to hammer things into domes! How cool is that?!?

John has almost every tool known to man, and even *he* didn't know this thing existed. We stumbled across it in one of the aisles, and it was the only one the store had. I'm calling it fate. :D

And look what it does!

Woohoo!

It's a little tricky at first, of course, and requires some serious pounding with a giant mallet, but once I got into the swing of things [smirk] I was zipping through the change jar.

John and I also had fun seeing what a difference a blow torch makes - but that's for another post. ("Fire!")

Anyway, once you have your dome pennies, here's all you need to turn them into über cool buttons:

The epoxy putty is dark blue with a white interior, and you knead the two together to activate it. Make sure you work in tiny amounts, though; that five minutes goes fast! Also, plan to have epoxy on your fingers for the next three days. (They claim it washes off, but that's only if you wash it off within those five minutes. Which I didn't.)

Once your epoxy is kneaded together, squish a small amount into the penny and set an O ring in it. Like so:

I never quite got the amounts consistent, but I think it looks best if the epoxy fills the penny completely. Of course, no one ever sees the backside of a button, so it doesn't really matter... unless you're me, or OCD, or both.

Two things to remember when setting your rings:

1) Make sure the jointed side of the O ring is *inside* the epoxy. If it's not, your threads will pull the ring open later.

2) Use a toothpick to check the ring's depth before the epoxy hardens. If the ring is too low you won't get a needle through it later, so give yourself enough room to work with.And that's it!

I used mine on our new dining room curtains:From a distance the pennies just look like copper rivets, of course, but I love having a little surprise for friends to discover when they get up close.

We just finished the curtains this week - complete with nautical rope and copper piping tie-backs, which look sooo cool. Those were also made on the cheap; I'll put up a quick tutorial with progress shots soon.

I plan to have lots more fun with my Doming Block: aged quarters make amazing button accents, and I'm eying the new penny shield design for a cool bubble bracelet - I just have to figure out how best to glue the two halves together. Any of you know anything about soldering pennies?

And while I've got you here, do you guys like this tutorial kind of thing? I mean, *I* do, but since I'm still new to non-cake blogging, I'd appreciate your feedback. If there's something you'd rather see more of: art, jewelry, other blogs, me telling funny stories about John, etc., just say the word. I'm sure I could annoy you on all kinds of different subjects. ;)

Wheeee! I'm actually the first to comment on a Jen post?!!! yay! Unless that means that everyone else is out partying on a Friday night... which is also fine with me! ;) I love this kind of post; I get to learn about cool new things I would normally never know about, and maybe have a new project to boot? Bonus! The shopping / interesting items to buy are great too, and thanks to you I have learned that I LOVE steampunk!!! (even bought an orb pendant from that birdznbeez Etsy site you featured!) So thank you, and keep the great and weird and odd and interesting stuff coming! :)

LOVE the tutorial type thing. I want to see the full curtains and more pics of your decor. :) I really love your new blog a lot. I check it daily to see if anythng is new. You are doing great. Oh yeah....you can throw any silly stories in also. hehe Those are always fun to hear.

I'm enormously entertained by this and think you're terribly clever. I haven't a crafty bone in my body whic is a big bummer. Mr. Tonks does, though, so I get an idea and say, "Wouldn't it be awesome if you did ____?" and I make him do it.

Then again, I'm home trolling blogs on a Friday night. So it's possible you should take my effusing with a grain of salt.

Pennies are copper (duh) so I would imagine you could get a soldering gun used for plumbing purposes and use it for soldering pennies.

Also, have you tried acetone or paint thinner to get the epoxy off your hands?

That's such an attractive tool! I really like the tutorial -- I'm sure I can think of some uses for penny-button. I also like hearing about your steampunk room in general. I can only aspire to have such a place some day!

Put my vote in for "I love this kind of tutorial thing" Those buttons are the coolest things I've seen in a while. I want to make them myself! How much did the Domino Block cost? What kind of mallet did you use? Love it!

You know it's nothing I've ever been interested only because I didn't know it existed, and nothing I'll ever do, but I love the post! Even though it's not MY thing, I love seeing something so creative and hearing a fun story about finding exactly what you need, and seeing a cool result! It's good all around!

I LOVE these! What an awesome idea, if I can ever get through my stack-o-crafts (so my honey will let me buy some more) I'm gonna get me one of those doming blocks! I like this tutorial entry, keep 'em coming. It's one thing to see a cool product you made (your curtains) it's quite another to see just how you did it. Also, did you try making an epoxy ball to put inside 2 domed pennies? I don't know if that would work to make a sphere, or if it would just goop out the sides and be lame, but just a non-soldering option that came to mind. Thanks!

OK, first off - envy over your doming kit! I'm going to have to see if I can get something like that here in Australia.Second - I *love* these sorts of post! Way to inspire and get the creative juices flowing!

I love these kind of posts and your curtains are AWESOME!Idea for the bracelet - could you punch two holes in opposite sides of the penny and wire them together into a bracelet? Personally, I think it is a brilliant idea and if you want to make me a bracelet for suggesting it, I'll demurely accept. [|8{ (I was going to put a smiley emoticon, but I thought my mustachioed man with a top hat and goggles might be more appreciated.)

Jen, I've never left a comment, but this post really, really, really deserves one. These tutorials are awesome. I hope you don't mind me ripping off some of your ideas in the future. I love how those penny buttons turned out! How cool!

And for the record, anything and everything you want to include would be great. Epbot and Cake Wrecks are the first two blogs I read in the mornings. IMO, they're like a balanced breakfast: they start my day out right! ;-)

LOVE it!! I've been wondering how all those etsy folks make those adorable domed coin things. Can't speak for others, but I'm enjoying the steampunk dining room updates and all the random stories. Keep up the awesome work! :)

Dearest Jen,YES! Please keep posting your tutorials and creations. I love them. I also love that you're OCD. It makes me feel more normal (I'm so anal). Believe it or not, you are super interesting and hilarious - so whatever you have to say I will happily read.Keep crafting! -ang

Aren't doming blocks THE coolest toy?? My husband is a blacksmith and he has made some of THE coolest toys with them! If you like the look of hand-hammered rivets, you can move things around a little on the doming block as you hit, and it will leave those cool little indentions all over the object!

I absolutely LOVE the tutorial (or as I call them, the how-I-did-it/where-I-found-it section) info.

I love DIY posts! It's one thing to look at design magazines, but it's more enjoyable for me to see how real people find ingenious ways to decorate their home/clothes/craft projects. I want to see what your dining room looks like in the end. Keep 'em coming!

So impressive! I bet your dining room looks amazing. I can't even gather up the drive to fold my towels. My idea of redecorating is buying a new paper towel holder for the kitchen. :/ You should post many more pictures.

YES. Do more of these! I want so desperately to steampunk my study (when I get one) and especially on my computer, and I am always looking for new ideas. Your blog is chock-full of them, and I've loved every one! Keep it up!

I've been reading Cake Wrecks for a while now and was super excited when you started this blog. I think you have a great mix of topics and I look forward to what I'll find on here the next day! your hilariously witty comments crack me up both here and on CW. Keep up with the stories, photos tutorials and everything you want to share. It is your blog after all, and I'm sure we'll all be reading regardless of what nonsense you throw at us! ;)

That last paragraph made me laugh! I for one love all the randomness here (I love the well-tuned machine that is CW as well!).

I read because I want to hear from you. Do what you 'feel', don't stress about the audience - if I don't like a post so much, I'll still be back for the next one and I dare say a lot of your readers are the same.

In 1982, the Mint started switching to copper-plated zinc pennies* with all of them made that way since 1983. Zinc melts at a much lower temperature than copper (787 °F vs. 1984 °F) so it might be challenging to solder. *Purists insist that it be called a "cent".

Oh oh I vote for some funny stories about Jon to go with these how to posts :). Then again I am still wondering how in the heck they put pennies in those tiny jars with the cork tops on them. Yeah random thought I know but cake wrecks ruined my brain for the night lol :)

This post is made of awesome. I love how those pennies turned out! Question - at which store did you find the dome tool? I've never seen one in our stores, and I'd love to get one!

One suggestion - perhaps instead of standard jump rings, one might use soldered jump rings (no opening, so no chance of the thread slipping out no matter how the ring is placed in the epoxy). A quick search produced these - http://www.etsy.com/listing/48933114/25-antique-brass-19-gauge-8mm-closed?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_5987502 . I'm sure there are others out there as well.

Omygoodness! That's awesome! I think my husband and I might just have to go find those dome block set or order it off the internet. He likes to do metalsmithing and armor smithing and I like to make awesome costumes.

I love it! Even if they are things I will probably never do (imagining me and quick dry glue is pretty scary), it's still great to spur ideas and see what's out there. It's also cool stuff in and of itself.

You know, I love it if you posted more star wars posts and played Star wars Knights of the old republic I, and then made a review about it! Plus I would love to read more about your life, cause I laugh hysterically every time.

I really like these kinds of posts, I would love links to though. Like where did you get that doming block, how much was it, can I come to your house at knight and take it?? No ok then where so I can get one and make fun things too!!

oh keep the tutorial thingies coming. I make my own jewellery and bits and pieces and love it when others post ideas and things they have done also. I'm planning on making a wine-bottle necklace (like your seahorse one a few posts back) just as soon as I win a jewellery competition I'm in at the moment.

I love learning new mediums. Mine is flowers and that can go in crazy directions but working the same thing over and over again gets less expressive and more mundane and predicatble. This is beautiful you are most definately multi talented.

Doming blocks are indeed awesome, but there are a few things to learn for those who did not learn to use one formally:

(1) Treat the tools with respect. In particular, do not let the doming balls or wells get any marks or dents in them, or those dents will get transferred to anything you try to dome in them, which is not cool.

(2) Always work from the largest dome down to the one you want, one size at a time. And it shouldn't take too much force, so if you feel like you're really working at it, you need to bring it back up a notch.

Those are neat!!! Makes me want to go find a doming block, even though I'd have no clue why I'd actually use it LOL I love your little tutorials! And I can't wait to see what your playdate with the blowtorch looks like :)

I never gave my father enough credit, it seems... it wasn't until recently that I realized how one can, easily, spend an hour lost in the hardware store. I won't admit it, but I kind of love Home Depot.

Tutorials are fun. Especially when I read it and say, "I need to do that!"

Wow, I've never seen a tool like that! You about blew me away with your creative-ness. I'm with all the others who want to see more of those curtains, too. Great stuff! I love DIY and tutorials, but really, this is your blog. Blog what YOU want! :) Happy Saturday to you!

Of all the posts I've read, both here and on CW, there hasn't been one that I have not enjoyed. I'm always up for a little humor, a little DIY, a little Ghostbusters ...the list goes on. Go with your gut and post what you think is best. I know I'll like it! Thank you for everything!

The result is gorgeous! Now I want a little doming thing... But that would probably mean I'd dome everything (Like, EVERYTHING). Do you remember how much it was? Your dining room must look like it belongs in a magazine by now. :D

I really enjoy these tutorials - and my favorite thing about this blog is the variety of topics! I always enjoy the funny stories about John and/or your daily life, as well... you know what they say: "Variety is the best pizza topping!" (Or something like that.) :D

I like them, but I wouldn't want tutorial posts to be the only thing on your blog. The new car story was hilarious!

You never gave the price of the doming thingy? Because that is very cool.And...here is a suggestion. Why stick to clean new pennies? If you want to do a nautical theme, why not use some corroded green pennies? They are copper, right (pre 1983 that is)?

You know what looks absolutely amazing? A flattened teaspoon, bent into a bracelet. My mom has one that her friend made her before I even existed. It keeps the spoon shape but its just soo pretty, and its nice and different and spunky

E6000 - that's what you can glue your domed pennies together with. It dries up fast in the tube, though, so buy the smallest one. Put your epoxy in to fill up the space, then when dry cement the two with E6000. It's awesome!

I was introduced just a few weeks ago to Cake Wrecks by my co-worker and have really enjoyed both it and this new blog -- both are now the prime targets of my RSS! I quite enjoy the craft, decorating and tutorial posts. I know mostly fiber crafts, so I really like reading about your metal and found-item works, since that's where my knowledge lacks.

To answer you last question, I've enjoyed everything you have posted so far on here. It's a wonderful blend of everything, although light on the posts about funny things your husband does :) Keep up the great work!!

oh, and I would be the exact same way making sure the epoxy putty was perfect on the buttons; I would also get epoxy stuck on my fingers too and then forget to use gloves the next time I used it!

You can solder two half-domes together pretty easily, but it's tricky keeping the solder from running outside the seam and blemishing your design. When working on similar projects I found it was best to hold the two halves together and place small pieces of solder on the outside of the seam, then melt them one at a time so the solder melts into the domes. I've had better luck with a soldering iron for this part since it gives more precise control than a flame.If you're using a flame and are concerned about the melting point of the pennies you can use the softest available solder which should melt almost instantly.Wow, I really didn't mean to come off like such an internet know-it-all there. Anyway, I love the blog!

Oh...smashing pennies into art! And I'm guessing these buttons cost a lot less than three dollars each; more like one ce- ok, never mind. :) Keep up the fun tutorials! They are mad, mad artistic skills.

These are wicked cool!! I would probably never do it but it's good to know just in case. I like the tutorials but I really like funny stories. How about like a cool post with some memorable, and funny, childhood stories? That would rock.

LOVE both of the blogs! I would suggest looking into jewelry soldering to fuse together your pennies. Welding together the domes would probably be: 1. WAY too complicated, 2. it would not give you a seamless look, and 3. it might not work for something that small. Your best bet would be jewelry solder. I actually know something about soldering and MIG/TIG welding, (I'm a sculpture major in art school) but I would just look around your local book store or check online jewelry supply stores. They usually have an insane amount of books at great prices. I would suggest looking up The Naja, Rio Grande, and Indian Jewelry Supply. Indian Jewelry Supply usually has better prices and, in my opinion, a greater selection of books and tools. I hope this helps!

Wow - that doming tool is the coolest thing ever! I want one! My hubby and I are both creative and crafty (he's a woodworker and I'm into textiles and like to bake) and I can feel the gears in my head starting to spin just looking at your tutorial.I love posts like this and really like your new blog! It lets me embrace my SciFi geeky side :) thanks!

I love the randomness of this blog. I am a loyal cakewrecks fan and quickly bookmarked this blog when you announced it. I have enjoyed the fun finds you have written about and loved the Dragon*Con photos. I really liked the tutorial you wrote here and although I don't imagine I will be making pennies into buttons anytime soon, I enjoyed reading your take on the subject. In short, keep it up!

Ok, my first post. I JUST got back from the tool store, I got so excited seeing the coins that I had to run out and buy one of those!! My boys and I are going to start doming coins tonight. Thanks for the ideas, tutorials, pictures and advice. Love CW, love this blog too. Keep up the good work!

I love this stuff too esp. since we recently cut up all our credit cards and are desperately trying get out of debt. On the cheap is great stuff. One thing I wanted to tell you: My kindergartner was looking over my shoulder while I read your blog yesterday and she said, "Hey Mom, the 'O' in epbot is the same as the power button!" I had never noticed that! Very cool.

well I started watching you a couple of months ago on wrecks, saw your post about starting this blog, and while I'm not normally a blog-o-holic, I couldn't resist and followed you to this site. With that said, I LOVE the difference between wrecks and here, totally! Keep up the totally random chatter, I love it :) plus, the tutorials make me think how I could fix MY house up (non steampunk but still...)

dont ever ever EVER get the doming block or punches wet. Make sure whatever you put into them is dry. The steel will rust extremely fast and you will have a terrible (impossible without the right tools) time trying to repolish it.

as another person posted dont bash at them too much, reheat your metals as they become work hardened.

make sure you use the right punch for the right hole getting this wrong can do damage to your tools and then mark every thing else you ever make which adds too much time getting those marks out with tedious sanding etc

Soldering the pennies shouldnt be terribly difficult if they are pure copper.. if they have zinc in them though its best not to solder them as heating zinc isnt the healthiest thing to do. You would be better finding a way of cold connecting them (rivets, glue etc)

enough of my lecturing! have fun making stuff and if you get the bug id advise you try a small jewellery/metalsmithing course... i tried jewellery making as one of my uni subjects and got hooked almost finished my masters and next phd haha!

the dome block is one of the things i miss about my art school's metals lab- did it come with instructions?because a lot of people don't realize you have to use a slightly smaller stake so the metal has room to move in the cup. and the right hammer, because te wrong kind of hammer can mess up your stakes /and/ the hammer head.

Pauline Warg wrote an amazing book on making metal beads that might be helpful to you: http://www.amazon.com/Making-Metal-Beads-Techniques-Inspiration/dp/1579907121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276458625&sr=8-1

If you decide to try to solder, it's essential that you drill holes somewhere in at least one of the halves. If you don't, the bead can explode, sending hot metal shooting out at you, especially if there is trapped moisture in the center.

I've tried using a jewelers torch on pennies and they melt really easily into a mess. I'm not sure I'd try soldering them.

However you could buy sheet copper or brass or nickel and punch out circles (there is a tool for this that jewelers use too) and dome them and then solder those together.

Riveting the penny halves together would look really cool too and it's super easy to do using a copper rod and a little domed hammer.

You'd love a jewelry making class...so many cool tools and techniques are out there. The hydraulic jewelry press we used is very fun too - you can make puffed metal in any outline or stamp metal with coins or other durable items.